Gulping down a beer or a fizzy (aerated) drink on a hot summer afternoon to quench your thirst is not a good idea. In fact, it is counter-productive. That is what doctors aver. The consumption of these drinks will make you more dehydrated. Any drink with high amounts of caffeine will make a person lose more fluids, and the high sugar content comes in the way of absorption by the body.
A nutrition consultant, Suneetha Sapur, said that aerated drinks contain caffeine and sugar. “Any fluid which contains caffeine is diuretic and that causes an increased output of urine. This means more fluids are lost. Aerated drinks have caffeine and are therefore diuretic. So drinking aerated drinks does not help in quenching thirst,” said Ms. Suneetha who works on water and nutrition linkages. Beer too is diuretic, she said.
She added that fluids are of three categories based on sugar and salt content: hypotonic, isotonic and hypertonic. And sugar plays a key role in absorption rate of fluids into the body.
Hypotonic fluids have less than five per cent sugar. They are easy for the body to absorb. Isotonic fluids have 6-8 per cent sugar, while hypertonic fluids contain more than eight per cent sugar. The body finds it hard to absorb such fluids.
“Aerated drinks contain around 10-12 per cent sugar. And since it is difficult to absorb them, these fluids do not help in hydrating the body,” she said.
An assistant professor of Urology, Osmania General Hospital, S. Anand said that aerated drinks lead to excretion of calcium in urine. This could lead to formation of stones in kidneys. “People tend to regularly have aerated drinks in summers. But, if someone consumes it regularly, they are at risk,” said Dr. Anand.
Chief dietician at KIMS, Kondapur, S.L. Priyadarsini Kadiyala said that the ideal fluids during summer are home-made fruit juices that do not contain sugar and are not contaminated such as ‘raagi’ java with onions or sprouts or any green leafy vegetable, and sabja seeds (chia seeds) soaked in water. Seasonal fruits like watermelon, and musk melon should also be included in the diet.
Ms. Suneetha added that people feel thirsty when they lose 750 ml of body fluids. When thirsty, one or two glasses of water is consumed, usually, which comes to 250-500 ml. She said that since the body is still not hydrated enough, fatigue or headache may continue. Some people prefer to drink freezing water from the fridge, and tend to consume less amount because of it being extremely cold.
